Markets Overview
- ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.3% to 7,348.00
- Dow Average down 1.0% to 33,950.65
- Aussie up 0.5% to 0.6989 per US$
- U.S. 10-year yield rose 2.8bps to 3.5328%
- Australia 3-year bond yield fell 0.8 bps to 3.21%
- Australia 10-year bond yield rose 1 bp to 3.60%
- Gold spot down 0.4% to $1,908.05
- Brent futures up 2.3% to $86.44/bbl
Economic Events
US stocks fell as concern over the outlook for corporate earnings weighed on risk sentiment while investors assessed the path for policy tightening.
The S&P 500 closed in the red for the first time in five days after struggling for direction throughout the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped the most in a month, with financials weighing on the gauge of blue chips. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 eked out gains, up for a seventh day, taking a cue from declines in policy sensitive short-dated Treasury yields.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. slid the most in a year after reporting fourth-quarter net revenue below expectations, while Morgan Stanley rallied as its wealth-management business boosted revenue above forecasts. Travelers Cos. fell after reporting preliminary earnings. Pfizer Inc. retreated as Wells Fargo & Co. predicted earnings downgrades for the drugs company.
Earnings may set the tone for traders this week as the reporting season moves up a gear. Of the 33 S&P 500 companies that have posted results so far, 25 have beaten analysts’ expectations. While it’s still early days in the season, the nascent trend lags buoyant surprises of earlier quarters. UBS Wealth Management expects “quite a bit of downside here on the earnings” in the US, according to Hartmut Issel, head of Asia Pacific equities.
Treasuries posted modest gains at the front end of the curve, with the policy sensitive two-year yield falling 3 basis points. The drop in yields suggested traders are betting pressures on rate hikes are easing.
The dollar traded near the lowest level since April.
Other News
Erchana Murray-Bartlett, who started running from the top of Australia’s Cape York and reached the country’s southern edge, is on her way to set a new world record.
Ms Murray-Bartlett, a 32-year-old runner from Australia, completed a record-breaking feat on Monday, by running 150 marathons in 150 days, or 6,300km (3,900 miles) in nearly five months.
She crossed the finish line on Monday, beating the previous world record of 106 consecutive marathons set by British woman Kate Jayden last year, if confirmed.
With her run, Ms Murray-Bartlett is raising money for conservation charity the Wilderness Society and spreading the message that “Extinction is a CHOICE”.
She has raised A$100,000, well above her goal to raise A$62,000, which will go into preserving parks and ecosystems.
The professional marathon runner set her eyes on the record after she narrowly missed out on the Tokyo Olympic Games.
She began her race in August to run from the tip, Cape York, to the bottom, Tan track of Australia, to raise awareness on the extinction crisis facing Australian animals and plants.
“Australia is fantastic, it’s so beautiful, and that was one of the key things I wanted to get out of this run, it was to showcase Australia’s beauty to the world – we have globally significant national parks, the Great Barrier Reef, and exploring them on foot is such a unique, different way to do it,” Ms Murray-Bartlett told Nine News.
She ran almost 43kms each day, a gruelling journey during which she endured scorching heat, storms, sunburn, blisters and aches as she passed through the country’s rainforests, coastlines, dirt roads and highways.
(The Independent)
